Port of Virginia Container Volume Falls Almost 5% in May
Container volume in May at the Port of Virginia sank a bit year-over-year, but port officials said they saw the drop coming.
The number of containers moved last month, measured in standard 20-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs, dipped 4.8% from May 2015, to 219,398 units from 230,511.
Last May, however, was a record-setting month for the port, fueled in part by the diversion of cargo from West Coast ports because of labor issues.
“Volume for May was not as high when compared with last year, but that was anticipated,” John Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, said in a statement.
“We are still tracking for a very modest gain for the fiscal year, and our volume expectations for the balance of the calendar year are realistic.”
For the first 11 months of the July-June fiscal year, total TEU volume was up 2.6%, year-over-year; for the first five months of the calendar year, TEU volume was up 2%.
Rail-container volume in May rose 8.3% year-over-year, while truck-container volume fell 12.6%.
That one-month snapshot reflects a broader trend.
On both a cumulative fiscal- and calendar-year basis, through May, rail-container volume has grown while truck-container volume has fallen, compared with the same periods a year ago.
From July through May, rail-volume growth outpaced that of trucks 9.4% to -1.2%, and from January through May, 11% to -3.2%.
Last year, the port moved nearly two-thirds of its cargo by truck, while rail accounted for 33% and barge, 3%.
Like in Hampton Roads, May TEU volume at the ports of Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, also fell, year over year: by 7.3% in Savannah and by 2.2% in Charleston.
#POVNews Port Moves 219K TEUs in May; Growth in Overall Rail Volume and Barge Traffic at Richmond Marine Terminal - https://t.co/exmTMxJr1P — The Port of Virginia (@PortofVirginia) June 16, 2016
